Now that grad school is done-zo, back to my Euro trip! I LOVED Sweden. The dreamy islands. Kind people. Oat milk lattes. And stunning views everywhere you looked. It’s tough to say and compare but I think I liked Sweden more than Copenhagen.
Sadly we didn’t have as much free time in Stockholm as we did in Copenhagen. I wish could have stayed another few days! But we still managed to cram a lot into our trip to Stockholm.
What you need to know about Stockholm:
Water, water everywhere: Stockholm is comprised of 14 different islands, connected by various bridges. It’s a bit spread out, but there’s also a ton of public transit.
Easy to get around: We stayed in the outskirts of Stockholm (in Kungsholmen) but had no problem taking the subway or bus into the center of the city. We also had no trouble navigating the transportation, even with the language barrier. It just took a bit of paying attention and confidence.
Similar to in Copenhagen, we had an unlimited metro card and Stockholm Pass that got us into a lot of the major attractions for free. For things like the ABBA we were able to use our student IDs for a slight discount. Depending on what attractions you want to visit, the pass might be worth the investment.
What I Did in Sweden:
▶︎ The Vasa: I never thought I’d care so much about a boat, but lemme tell you the Vasa is SO cool. The ship sunk during it’s maiden voyage in 1628. The remains were lifted from the Stockholm harbor in the late 1950’s and are now on display at the Vasa Museum.
▶︎ the ABBA Museum: I’m secretly a huge fan of ABBA. It’s kind of embarrassing how much I love their music. Being in Sweden only amplified that love and I legit only listened to ABBA while I was there. Oops.
So of course I had to check out the ABBA Museum. It’s nothing special but it’s definitely fun and we had a good time singing ABBA karaoke and learning more about their story.
▶︎ Skansen. Skansen in a funky open-air museum and zoo. It kind of reminds me of those colonial villages we used to visit on school trips. The highlight was seeing a big ole bear stand-up on it’s hind legs (bears are SO fun to watch, who knew?) and eating fresh bread. Yum.
▶︎ eat on the water. My favorite meal during this trip was at Glashuset. The restaurant is situated on the water with a dreamy view of the city. I had the tuna burger sliders which were SO good… I ended up ordering more.
Even though I was on a school trip eating there felt like I was on an actual vacation. Despite that fact that I was wearing slacks and a blazer instead of shorts and a t-shirt.
▶︎ Fika. Fika means “to have coffee” in Swedish. The tradition is all about taking a break in the middle of the day to enjoy some coffee and pastries. I think America needs to make Fika a thing, I wish I would’ve had a nice long coffee break when I was working full-time.
▶︎ lots of shopping. Of course I had to go into an H&M in Sweden! I didn’t end up doing as much shopping as I thought I would, but I enjoyed walking around the Queen Street (or Droittninggatan in Swedish) area.
Things I wish I had time to do: I didn’t get a chance to go to the amusement park, Grona Lund, but it looked INSANE from afar. I’m a sucker for roller coasters.
I also wish we would’ve been able to make it to the archipelago, my professor’s son got to go and said it was incredible to see.
Sweden looks absolutely incredible!! I was hoping you’d put up a post after your trip since your stories on Instagram looked amazing, too! I feel like I would really love Stockholm – it almost seems like a cleaner version of Paris or something!
Long overdue for this recap! I haven’t been to Paris since high school but I think an accurate comparison, Stockholm was just so lovely. I want to go back soon!